Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2009-10: Tyler Brown’ played in 66 games in his third OHL Season with Plymouth. Playing a limited role behind the likes of second overall pick, Tyler Seguin (BOS), Brown scored 14 goals with 35 assists and was +12 with 28 PMs.

2010-11: Brown was the third-leading scorer for Plymouth as a 20-year-old as the Whalers finished third in the OHL West Division. In 67 games he scored 25 goals with 32 assists and was +6 with 44 PMs. Brown skated in all 11 playoff games as the Whalers advanced to the second round and he led the team with 11 assists while scoring 3 goals with 8 PMs. Brown scored 2 of his 3 goals playoff goals while on the penalty kill and was -1 for the two series. Brown signed a free-agent, entry-level contract with Philadelphia in March 2011.

2011-12: Brown skated in 71 games for the Flyers' AHL affiliate in Adirondack in his first pro season. Playing mostly a lower line role, he chipped in some secondary scoring (8 goals, 9 assists) and had 28 penalty minutes; finishing +2 on a Phantoms team that struggled to score and missed the playoffs after finishing fifth in the Northeast Division. Brown was among the players called up by the Flyers for the NHL playoffs but did not appear in any games.

2012-13: Brown returned to Adirondack for his second pro season – skating in 55 games for the Phantoms before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury at the end of March. He scored 3 goals with 3 assists and was -10 with 30 penalty minutes. Adirondack missed the playoffs after finishing last in the Northeast Division.

Future

Share this story

Photo: Forward Jason Akeson currently leads the Adirondack Phantoms with 16 goals and 42 points through 45 games. Akeson was signed by the Philadelphia Flyers to an NHL deal in 2011. (courtesy of Bill Streicher/Icon SMI)

The Adirondack Phantoms have had a rough couple of seasons in the AHL recently, but a fresh injection of youth and sophomore head coach Terry Murray are trying to right the ship. With Murray putting a heavy emphasis on defense-first hockey, the Phantoms are one of the best defensive teams in the AHL.

Share this story

Photo: Defenseman Mark Alt is in his first full year of professional hockey following three seasons at the University of Minnesota. (courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The Philadelphia Flyers have generally taken an ambivalent approach to developing prospects, preferring to focus their resources on the NHL club and procuring more established young talent through trades or free agent signings.

Share this story

Photo: Forward Tye McGinn has been one of the more pleasant surprises for the Philadelphia Flyers this season. McGinn has played in 16 NHL games with the Flyers. (courtesy of Nick Turchiaro/Icon SMI)

The Phantoms' franchise, even before it moved to Glens Falls to become the Adirondack Phantoms, has been in a state of struggle underneath a successful NHL franchise. This comes despite a large amount of success from drafted prospects. The Phantoms have not really been successful since winning the Calder Cup during the NHL lockout year of 2004-05. Two early exits from the postseason over the course of what will be seven seasons of hockey does not suggest a steady foundation of prospects on which to build an NHL franchise.

Share this story

Photo: Marc-Andre Bourdon is one of several Flyers defensive prospects who already has some NHL experience on his resume. (Jeanine Leech/Icon SMI)

While the Philadelphia Flyers prospect pool consistently hovers near the bottom of the league, it is not for a lack of production. A steady stream of graduates has kept the team rotating through young talent since the end of the 2004-05 NHL Lockout. Though they once again lack blue-chip prospects within their pool, most of the weight for the future of the team is carried by young NHL players such as Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Sean Couturier, and the Schenn brothers, Luke and Brayden.